Mr Carey gave a plum job to former FF election candidate and Supervalu chain boss Luke Moriarty on the board of the transport quango, the Railway Procurement Agency.

Part-time board members at the quango get paid about €13,000 a year.

Mr Moriarty failed to get a seat for Fianna Fail in the 2007 election.

Last week, Taoiseach Enda Kenny revealed that he had consulted the Attorney General to see if the swathes of Fianna Fail hacks appointed to State boards by ministers such as Mr Carey in the dying days of the last Government could be reversed.

The Sunday Independent revealed last week that Mr Carey had stuffed State boards with party cronies on March 8 -- his last full day in office -- after being kicked out by the electorate.

Mr Carey appointed Jim Donlon, a constituency organiser from his own Dublin West constituency, to the board of the National Roads Authority, which pays its part-time dir-ectors about €8,000 per year.

Offaly FF councillor Peter Ormonde landed the plum job as a board member of An Post, while former FF TD Marian McGennis, a running mate of Bertie Ahern in Dublin Central at one stage, was plonked on to the board of Bus Eireann.

Last week, Mr Carey defended handing jobs to these Fianna Fail insiders, saying "all of the appointments were made according to the procedures and vacancies were filled as required".

Former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan's economic adviser Alan Ahearne was appointed to the Central Bank Commission, with Donegal FF councillor Brendan Byrne also being put on the board of the Higher Education Authority.